In many high-pressure and high-temperature reactions, important information concerning the control of chemical and physical processes can be obtained through study of the reactions at the early stages, before complicating secondary reactions occur. This requires bringing the system up to the reaction temperature and pressure before any substantial reaction takes place, and, similarly, quickly reducing the temperature to ambient after the reaction is completed to the desired extent. Such study also requires agitation for achieving uniform concentration and temperature of the reactants within the reaction vessel.
Previous apparatus for such studies involved tubing bombs or autoclaves, which require long heating and cooling times relative to the reaction times themselves. Such long heat up and cool down times make study of short reaction times difficult, and obtaining accurate kinetic information in such equipment is not possible.
Typical reactor systems are agitated by either stirring or shaking, which requires complicated equipment, which is difficult to control, especially on small laboratory scales. Accordingly, a need exists for reaction apparatus which permits study of high-temperature reactions without the interference of long heating and cooling periods or complex agitation apparatus.